Highlights:

  • Amazon’s engagement with Fig’s product aligns with the company’s developer-oriented trajectory, aiming to offer systems that alleviate the load of constructing and delivering applications from software engineers and operations teams.
  • Amazon currently aids developers through CodeWhisperer, an AI-driven coding assistant embedded within IDEs. It automatically generates computer code, offers real-time suggestions, and enhances the coding process.

Amazon.com Inc. has purchased Fig, a startup specializing in improving the command line interface for developers through tools like autocomplete and collaborative features.

In a recent announcement, Fig’s CEO, Brendan Falk, revealed that the company and its team will be integrating into Amazon subsidiary Amazon Web Services Inc. The deal’s specifics remain undisclosed.

While developers extensively use integrated development environments (IDEs), which resemble text editors for code writing and editing, the command line remains crucial for configuring and setting up various aspects. Its program receives commands directly from the user and forwards them line by line to a computer’s operating system.

In many cases, the command line interface is austere than an editor, providing a less interactive user experience and proving more challenging to operate. Through Fig’s autocomplete feature, users receive suggestions for upcoming commands or flags, considerably alleviating the workload for developers and operators engaged in tasks at such a granular level.

Amazon’s engagement with Fig’s product aligns with the company’s developer-oriented trajectory, aiming to offer systems that alleviate the load of constructing and delivering applications from software engineers and operations teams. In April, Amazon introduced CodeCatalyst, a unified cloud software development service aimed at reducing the duration required for teams to construct and deploy software on AWS.

Falk also conveyed that Fig would be integrated into Amazon’s overarching vision to infuse artificial intelligence into a wider array of its products tailored for developers. “AWS believes that generative AI represents a major technological shift to transform the way its customers build,” Brendan said.

Amazon currently aids developers through CodeWhisperer, an AI-driven coding assistant embedded within IDEs. It automatically generates computer code, offers real-time suggestions, and enhances the coding process. Introducing auto-complete to the command line terminal, potentially backed by generative AI in the future, would complement the pair of interfaces where developers predominantly engage in their tasks.

Amazon faces competition from companies offering AI-driven coding assistants, including Microsoft Corp.’s GitHub Copilot X, Google LLC’s Duet AI for coders, and Studio Bot, catering to Android developers.

Since its inception in 2020, Fig has secured USD 2.2 million in seed funding and serves numerous developers and giants like Amazon, Microsoft, Google, Atlassian Corp., and Salesforce Inc.

Regarding the product’s future, Falk mentioned, “Existing users will continue to be able to use Fig and will receive ongoing support.” He added that, following the acquisition, existing first-tier “Fig Team” features are now available to users for free. However, new users won’t be able to sign up as the company shifts its focus towards integration with AWS.